Siaya Governor Rasanga sued over recent Cabinet reshuffle

A resident of Siaya County has sued Governor Cornel Rasanga and three other parties over the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

George Ochieng is suing Rasanga, the county government, Speaker George Okode and the County Assembly over the changes that were announced in July this year.

In his petition filed at the Siaya High Court under a certificate of urgency, the petitioner through his lawyer William Ochuka claims that the governor violated the law.

According to him, the reshuffle was done without following due process.

The petitioner accuses the Governor of ‘complete ignorance’ of the provisions of the constitution.

“The Governor – who is the first respondent in this case – appointed persons to serve as members of the County Executive Committee without being vetted by the County Assembly’s committee on appointments and in total disregard of the Kisumu High Court petition of 2017 which established that the persons in question were not fit for the dockets where they had been appointed,” the petition reads in part.

The petitioner adds that the candidates were also not approved by the county assembly –the fourth respondent–for appointment.

County Executive Committee members Dr. Elizabeth Odhiambo (Agriculture), Jaoko Oburu Odinga (Roads), Eng. Adrian Ouma (Lands), Dismas Omondi Wakla (Governance and administration) have been listed as interested parties in the case.

Others include George Misore (Water), Bernard Mboha (Entrepreneurship), Charles Oduor Ogada (Tourism and Sports) and Dorothy Owino (Health).

The Siaya High Court has however referred the application to be heard inter-party under a certificate of urgency at the Kakamega High Court on September 19, 2019.